Aaron Detroit, Buyer at Amoeba Hollywood. I've worked in Hollywood for nine years, but started my time with Amoeba - way back in 1998 - at the San Francisco store. Here is my extensive list of new essential listening, released in 2013. There is a wide range of genres and artists represented here because musical passion shouldn't be static!

No guitars, no dubstep breaks, no angular post-punk posturing. Jack Barnett & Co. look to 20th century composers and Fado for inspiration on their third LP. Woodwinds, brass, field recordings, a magnetic resonator piano and additional vocals from Portuguese vocalist Elisa Rodrigues move TNP into a whole other category of artist, far away from the faceless NME hordes they once mingled with.

Quite honestly, it’s his best since his last great LP --33 years ago--Scary Monsters. This isn’t anything but Bowie being himself, but the emotional weight of his lyrics give the new tracks a vitality missing from much of his work in the previous decade. It’s exhilarating throughout, with most of his famous tropes (Space!!) sounding somehow fresh. New classics like the title track, “Dirty Boys,” the Scott Walker-nodding “Heat,” plus the stellar Bowie-doing-Morrissey-doing-his-best-Bowie moment on “You Feel So Lonely You Could Die.”

Doesn’t end-of-year-list time always sneak up on us? It’s the time to reflect and realize that a lot of really great music did come out throughout the year. Here is my list of 50 best records that came out in 2013. I limited it to albums that were physically released. But it’s only the end of November, so feel free to leave a comment and tell me why I’m dumb for leaving out such-and-such record and I’ll give it a listen!

What if Kelly Clarkson really dug My Bloody Valentine and dated the dude form Diiv? What if Taylor Swift shot up heroin, posed nude for some crazy German director and actually ended up making interesting music? Night Time, My Time seeks to answer these questions you never knew you had. Even though Night Time, My Time couldn’t possibly live up to all the blog hype/hate/press Sky Ferreira got this year, it’s still a great, if fragmented pop record.

This week's hip-hop top five chart from the Hollywood Amoeba store confirms something that I had mentioned in my recent year end/best of 2013 in hip-hop Amoeblog about how several 2012 releases, most notably Kendrick Lamar's good kid, m.A.A.d city album that originally dropped 13 months ago back in October of last year, have been carrying over and keep re-charting this year due to a steady continued interest in these popular albums. Other chart entries this week include other albums that likely will have long shelf lives too such as, the current number one on both the Billboard albums chart and at Amoeba, Eminem'sThe Marshall Mathers LP2, and Drake'sNothing Was The Same. The other two chart entries are the Dan The Automator produced Deltron 3030Event II that also comes in an instrumental version and Dom KennedyGet Home Safely which is doing real well at the LA emcee's hometown Amoeba branch. The album from the Leimert Park district of Los Angeles raised artist, who since he started out just five years ago with his first mixtape (25th Hour) has steadily risen in popularity and demand (by fans and other artists who want to collaborate with him) is truly the feel-good rap recording of the year and proof that we will be hearing a lot more from Dom Kennedy in 2014 and beyond. Other recent hip-hop releases at Amoeba that have been in demand include Greenhouse (Blueprint & Illogic)'sBend But Don't Breakon Weightless Recordings, the dope Stones Throw Records "rap" release from Jon Wayne Rap Album One, and Anticon co-founder/producer/MC Jel's Late Passon Anticon.

Brilliant new record from the oddball house producer. Warm analog soundbaths for all hours of the day and night. Monday Rain is a relaxed warm-up track with playful 303 and Juno strings. Winter Moonness takes classic square-wave Chicago bounce into a psychedelic, keyboard mashing solo.

Cool companion piece to KMFH's fairly epic Boat Party LP. This one's aimed at the djs. The A-side contains a couple of soul-sample jams roughed up to the point where they become something else, a mutant railroad dub. The B-explores Hall's other fascination - twisted drum beatdowns.

In thinking about and working on a post covering one-album-wonders, I was reminded of a few single releases that were pseudonymously attributed to otherwise non-existent performers. Of course many musicians release music under stage names and a list of their releases would include the entire catalogs of everyone from David Bowie, to Elton John, to Elvis Costello and 99% of dance artists and rappers.

I'm talking about weird one-offs. So far I've only thought of two (updated since with contributions from readers) of these releases but I'm sure that there are quite a few for so help me out, please. Hopefully the more suggestions that are made, the more I can clarify what it is, exactly, that I'm talking about.

*****

I'm not including The Four Seasons because although they also recorded as The Wonder Who?, they weren't a one-off, having contemporaneously released four singles over three years. Similarly, although The Pretty Things also released music as The Electric Banana, it wasn't a one-off, as they did so across two decades.

Although Thin Lizzy formed in 1969, they were hardly overnight successes. In fact, their 1970 single, "The Farmer" b/w "I Need You" sold just 283 copies. In order to make some extra Irish pounds, they recorded an album ofDeep Purple covers as Funky Junction for German businessman Leo Muller. It wasn't exactly a one-off though because the vocals were provided by Elmer Fudd's Benny White and not Thin Lizzy's Phil Lynott.

Happy Thanksgiving 2013 from a chilly (37 degree) but dry morning here in New York City where the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade now in its 87th year, that began at 9am uptown at 79th Street before slowly snaking its way downtown here to the Herald Square area by Macy's flagship store, is well underway with thousands upon thousands of spectators (a great many of them tourists visiting New York for the holiday) clogging the police barricaded streets on either side of Sixth Avenue to catch glimpses of the floats with exhibits and performers such as Joan Jett (the PETA supporting rocker who got bumped from the meat-proud South Dakota float and moved to another one), giant balloons including a huge inflated Snoopy with Woodstock and a giant Spiderman. This is good news for all since, due to previously forecast heavy wind gusts of up to 30 mph that might cause some big balloons to be grounded, so far nothing has been cancelled. Like New Year's Eve or any other huge scale event here in NYC, that blocks streets and grinds traffic to a halt, the crowds that turned out this morning are truly overwhelming, dozens deep packing sidewalks for the entire route from the Upper West Side on Central Park West at 79th Street and downtown via across Central Park South to Sixth Ave and slowly down the Avenue of The Americas to 34th Street where Macy's original big store stretches one long city block across to 7th Avenue.

Chelsea Wolfe has been churning out her own brand of Goth Folk music for quite some time now. With her fourth studio album, Pain Is Beauty, Wolfe utilizes many different elements including Rock, Experimental, Folk, Goth, Metal and a little Synth pop to create a well rounded album. Her vocal talent is on display as she easily moves from breathy melancholic lines to angelic harmonies. Violins and guitars are nicely stacked to create plush layers of sonic beauty. The overall album is tightly produced but still manages to have an organic aesthetic. She has something for everyone on here!

Chelsea Wolfe took some time out of her busy schedule to shoot another cool episode of What's In My Bag? She has some really nice picks, such as Black Sabbath Vol. 4 and a couple Townes Van Zandt LPs including Live At The Old Quarter. A big fan of Hank Williams, Chelsea snags 20 Of Hank Williams' Greatest Hits on vinyl. Chelsea also digs through our World, Classical and Soundtrack sections. See what else she likes!

Today's richly vibrant, prolific, and diverse Bay Area hip-hop scene, with thousands of artists currently making a broad range of styles, humbly began in Oakland 32 years ago back in 1981. It was early in that year when the very first Oakland rap release (also the very first known Bay Area rap release) dropped: Motorcycle Mike's single "Super Rat." The record arrived in a time when hip-hop or rap music was still considered an East Coast/New York artform that, for some odd (elitist?) reason, could not hail from the West Coast. This belief was challenged with releases like releases like Motorcyle Mike's debut 12" rap single. That record by the artist, who was also known as Motorcycle Mike Dappa, was entitled "Super Rat" and was produced by Gerald Robinson and released on the tiny indie Hodisk Records -- the label run by Nicky Moore that also released the Numonics. Born Phil Lewis and influenced by Bootsy Collinsas much as the Sugarhill Gang, Motorcycle Mike was, not surprisingly, a motorbike fanatic. Pro-Black in its message, "Super Rat" featured the early Oakland rapper drawing an analogy between the then much talked about Norwegian "super rats," who could not be killed by poison but instead got stronger, and the underdog black man in Oakland and other American urban areas who could not be kept down. Motorcycle Mike's original Oakland rap record was followed up later that same year from the East Bay city by the 12" single “Tally Ho!” on Walker Star Records from Steve Walker - an artist who would re-emerged some years later to record under the name Biscuit.

L.A.'s VUM create a dawn-to-dusk soundtrack of moody organ tones, dirty drum machine sounds and Jennifer Pearl's deep, ghostly voice on their new album, Psychotropic Jukebox (vinyl out Dec. 3). To celebrate the release of the album, the trio, made up of Christopher Badger and Amoeba alumn Pearl and Scott Spaulding, is playing The Echo in Echo Park every Monday in December. The residency shows are free and start at 8:30 p.m. The shows will run as follows:

For me, a lifelong hip-hop fan, 2013 was another great year for both new hip-hop releases and hip-hop in general - a vibrant genre that humbly begun four decades ago and that for much of the first half of its lifespan was considered a passing fad by a large segment of people. Sure some begrudgers today might argue that there are no new hip-hop classics - a la golden era hip-hop circa 88-93 - being made these days and/or that today's hip-hop is lyrically one-dimensional and musically just not exciting. I think I know what they mean but honestly but am guessing that they are simply referencing certain artists among the pop/Top 40 spectrum of today's hip-hop; the hip-hop that dominates the airwaves and popular culture. Simply put they are not looking at the big picture of the endless amazing hip-hop releases (a great many of them on small indie labels) being quietly but steadily released nowadays. The positive reality is that there is a vast and most diverse wealth of hip-hop being made today: so much that it is impossible to keep up with it all. There is hip-hop spanning more musical ground and cross-pollinating with other genres than in any previous time in the genre's forty year history (just peep the list below of 2013 releases from Amoeba hip-hop charts over 2013 that, note, are listed in no particular order).

Speaking of that 40 years of hip-hop, August 11th, 2013 was the officially recognized date of the 40th anniversary of hip-hop music and culture when hip-hop's recognized creator/godfather DJ Kool Herc kickstarted the genre/culture with a party in the rec room of the South Bronx building located at 1520 Sedgwick Ave. back in August 11th, 1973. To celebrate the occasion Herc did two big anniversary shows in New York City - both of which were reported on here on the Amoeblog: one on Saturday August 10th in Manhattan's Central Park with such performers as Rakim,Big Daddy Kane, DJ Red Alert, Roxanne Shante, andGrand Wizzard Theodore, and the second the following day on the actual anniversary date, Sunday August 11th, at 5Pointzin Long Island City, Queens where, along with Marley Marl from nearby Queensbridge, played music all afternoon for dancers and celebrants of the culture. Graffiti artists at 5Pointz did some nice pieces - like the one above - to mark the occasion. Sadly, as reported here more recently, the 5Pointz location has been whitewashed of its art and will soon be bulldozed to become new luxury condo buildings.

Shearwater’s latest is a set of covers and one original that pay tribute to bands they’ve toured with. It may seem like a strange way to round up a set of covers, but it mostly works, and serves as a nice follow-up to last year’s Animal Joy before the band regroups to record new material. It’s a kick to hear them take on Xiu Xiu’s “I Luv the Valley OH!!” and hear Jonathan Meiburg intone “my behind is a beehive.” They make Coldplay more tasteful on their rendition of “Hurts Like Heaven.” And while some covers remain faithful, like their version of Folk Implosion’s mid-’90s rock radio hit “Natural One,” they take a different melodic tack to St. Vincent’s “Cheerleader,” making the song their own, and give a more humanistic sense to Clinic’s “Tomorrow” while retaining that band’s rhythmic thump. Fellow Travelers pulls a neat trick for Shearwater, a band who is distinctive in its own right but whose moody indie-rock sound is difficult to pinpoint, by showing how that sound applies to the music of others. And it ends up a nice showcase for the bands they cover, highlighting some of the lesser-known bands they’ve toured with, on lovely renditions of David Thomas Broughton’s “Ambiguity,” for instance, while shedding new light on bigger bands like Coldplay. It’s a winner, all-around.

In a not-too-distant past -- twenty-five years ago A.D. -- there lived a guy named Joel, not too different from you or me. It doesn't matter what he did to eat and breathe, crappy movies had sealed his fate, because the comedy world was changed forever on this day in 1988... when Mystery Science Theater 3000 premiered on KTMA in Minneapolis, Minnesota. One hundred ninety-seven episodes and a movie later, the show continues to swell its "tape circulating" fanbase despite having been off the air for fourteen years. With the popularity of follow up ventures Cinematic Titanic and RiffTrax ever growing, as well as this years' return of the annual Thanksgiving Day marathon, it would seem that the past twenty-five years has kindly aged nothing if not the timelessness of Mystery Science Theater 3000. And so:

Happy Birthday MST3K!!!
I feel like celebrating -- let's!

Here's a short list of some of my favorite episodes (heavily influenced by my access to dubbed VHS tapes of episodes recorded from televised broadcasts over the years) -- any of these would be a great place to start for anyone new to the charms of Mystery Science Theater 3000, beginning with the most beloved:

This year, the first day of Hanukkah (25 of Kislev) happens to fall of Thanksgiving. It’s a big day for American Jews and the people who love them (and their food). We might as well go all out this time because this fortuitous collision of dates apparently won’t happen again for another 70,000 years, and we may be busy then.

So here we are in a double bind: Thanksgivukkah meal extravaganza to plan (sweet potato latkes? Matzo stuffing?) AND eight crazy nights of gifts for the fam! Zorg zich nit, we’ve got you covered. Here are a few gift ideas you can pick up at Amoeba or order online at Amoeba.com (free shipping to the U.S.)!

Thanks to E-Lit at the Berkeley Amoeba store for the above latest top five chart and accompanying video of the hip-hop fan/KALX DJ/Amoeba hip-hop buyer running down the latest batch of new/recent hip-hop arrivals (CD and vinyl) into the Telegraph Avenue store where things, in terms of new 2013 releases, are slowing down to a halt now as we rapidly approach the end of the year / holiday season when traditionally only major labels release new albums while most labels wait until the new year to drop new releases if not already out by now. Of this week's new chart entries and new releases included are the return in stock of Denmark Vessey & Scud One's Cult Classics, Anticon co-founder and member of numerous groups and collabs including Themselves, andSubtle, Jel's excellent new solo albumLate Pass, and Latyrx's The Second Album (read the Amoeblog interview with Lateef and Lyrics Born I did earlier this week). Also charting this week at Amoeba are The Godfathers (not the 90's UK rock outfit of same name) - the unlikely duo of Kool G. Rapand Necro who just dropped Once Upon A Crime via Psycho & Logical, and Sacramento's in-your-face hardcore, noise-making, hip-hoppers Death Grips with their brand new No Love Deep Web album. Below is a new video from the talented pair - albeit from the also recently released Government Plates for the song "You might think he loves you for your money but I know what he really loves you for."

This past Halloween marked a break in the fog obscuring yet another exciting prospect from the deep diggers and detail sticklers at Numero Group. The past few years has seen the label expanding the scope of their offerings and this one is set to be quite the departure from their formative fare, so much so that one might even be tempted to inquire after what they've been smoking. If the above cover art and the sample, below, of the amateur Dungeons & Dragons campaign sketches promised to be incorporated into the overall packaging are any indication, I'd wager that they got a hold of some good ol' stuff! Slated for a February release, Warfaring Strangers: Darkscorch Canticles compilation of lost 70s smokers I can really do with -- this is a direction I'd love to see the label explore further. I'm chuffed to bits for their Purple Snow Minneapolis Sound comp dropping in early December, but this sixteen-sided die seems just as destined for niche-interest veneration as their WTNG 89.9: Solid Bronzecollection.

Outstanding full-length statement from the young Swedish producer. The record maintains a melancholic, bittersweet tone reminiscent of classic Kompakt releases, while maintaining the adroit, joyful sample work of Detroit house. The record's first single is the excellent Fantastic Piano, which bears out the Cologne/Detroit connection, yet the album's clever pacing and dynamics include moody Rhodes on Barcelona and the sad carnival music of Animal Lovers. A fulfilling journey.

Reissue of the 2001 mix that positioned Harvey as the fearless and rightful heir to Danielle Baldelli's cosmic legacy. What's fascinating about revisiting this record some 12 years later, is the Venice dj's unquestionable role in the revival of many of the track's contained. Antena's Camino Del Sol emerges early in the mix with its lackadaisical brilliance. Holger Czukay and other legends whose late period work is well-suited for moonlight beach parties appear throughout. Transportative.

It’s not too early to get excited for music in 2014. This new track from Santa Barbara’s Gardens & Villa is a winner, flying high on falsetto harmonies and a deep, thumping groove, like a hipper, more psych-oriented Hall & Oates. The band’s second album, Dunes, is due Feb. 4 on Secretly Canadian.

What do you do if the exact type of musical instrument you want to play music on does not yet exist? If you are GYREFUNK - the diversely talented Bay Area guitarist, studio musician, producer, DJ, visual artist, and teacher - you create your own instrument. That is exactly what GYREFUNK, who I first met earlier this year at the San Francisco DMC Regionals DJ battle where the multi-instrumentalist beat out about 15 other DJ audience members in a fun informal scratch battle that followed the actual competition. Also at that same event was Mitch Manchild who, at that time was working with the company DJ Techtools who custom made DJ auxiliary gear (things like sound pads that trigger and loop various effects) but since has set up his own design company: a manufacturing brand called Lookwright. Manchild and GYREFUNK teamed up to execute GYREFUNK's vision of a new guitar styled instrument and make that vision it a reality. Since that time, about six months ago, the pair have been busily working on or "steadily attacking" this new instrument as GYREFUNK told me this week when I reached out to him again. "It's cut and gutted and being worked on and hopefully to be completed in a few months," he reported. "I'm hella juiced about this contraption. It's literally gonna change my life; allow me to put food on my table," he chuckled enthusiastically. Scroll down, immediately below a video of GYREFUNK jam session of him playing a myriad of instruments, are more in-depth answers to questions I posed to GYREFUNK about this new musical invention.

We’ve had a great year for donations through our monthly charity auctions (the last one of the year is Dec. 7). But we’re not done yet.

At Amoeba San Francisco, we’re joining forces with the San Francisco Food Bank to collect canned goods and nonperishable items for singles and families in need through Dec. 23. Additionally, you can make a monetary donation to the San Francisco Food Bank online. For each $1 donated, the SF Food Bank is able to distribute $6 worth of food. The need is especially great now, as 1 in 4 residents of San Francisco and Marin County are in need of food assistance, and the need in both areas has grown by nearly 20% since 2008, according to SF Food Bank.

As a thank you for your donations, you will receive a coupon for $5 off a purchase of $25 or more at Amoeba SF.

At Amoeba Hollywood, we’ll be collecting holiday gifts for Five Acres, an organization that promotes safety and well-being for children by connecting them with permanent, loving homes. To donate, please bring in a new, unwrapped toy for a child age 4–16.

On planet Earth there are at least two archipelagos known as “The Channel Islands.” Frankly, I'd be somewhat surprised if there aren't more. One is located in an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates France and the UK known in English as “The English Channel” or simply “The Channel.” It's traversed (or is it subversed) by the Chunnel. Its eight Channel Islands are home to about 168,000.

The other Channel Islands are in an arm of the Pacific Ocean called the Santa Barbara Channel. Being located in California they are are often distinguished from their Atlantic counterparts by their being referred to as the Channel Islands of California. There are also eight islands in this archipelago although they’re only home to about 4,000 people. In some ways they have more in common with another archipelago, the Galapagos Islands of South America. Both developed in relative isolation which allowed for an independent evolutionary processes. In the Channel Islands' case, that process led to the development of at least 145 endemic species.

Some music enthusiasts and critics alike believe the band Deathto be the precursors to punk rock. Jack White is quoted as describing them as "ahead of punk and ahead of their time." Mos Def says, "These dudes were pre-Sex Pistols, pre-Bad Brains, pre-all that shit, and nobody knows about them. I don't understand how the world could forget them."

The story of Death is the stuff of legend. It's all documented in the film, A Band Called Death, a must see for all fans of music history and punk fans alike. After uncovering master tapes in an attic from sessions in the early '70s, Death's music was finally getting its chance. In 2009, Drag City Records released a 7-song LP entitled...For The Whole World To See. Soon after, a reformed Death took to the stage, almost 30 years after they formed. Death was alive again!

Our What's In My Bag? crew caught up with the members of Death when they performed at Amoeba Hollywood in support of the documentary film, A Band Called Death. These guys know good music and they love it all. They dig up a vinyl copy of Jamaican reggae singer Garnet Silk's Reggae Anthology. The guys keep it punk rock and pick up the Patti Smith classic, Horses, on vinyl. Of course they couldn't leave without taking back a little Motown. They manage to dig up Diana Ross & The Supremes Join The Temptations. Check out all their cool selections in this awesome What's In My Bag? episode.

Despite the fact that it was clear that the battle to save 5 Pointz was lost and that the demolition of the NYC graffiti mecca in Long Island City, Queens was inevitable - expected to begin early 2014 - New Yorkers and graffiti fans alike were in utter shock yesterday morning to awaken and discover that the beloved aerosol art soaked building had been quietly whitewashed over in its entirety overnight as in photo left.

On Friday last a Brooklyn judge announced to lawyers fighting for the building's preservation that he could not and would not grant an injunction to prevent demolition of the graffiti-covered factory building as soon as late December. For years owner Jerry Wolkoff had allowed, under the curation of Jonathan "MERES One" Cohen, the factory building to be completely adorned in aerosol art but now wanted to knock down the famous building and in its place build two big high-rise luxury condos. But, despite the fact that Wolkoff and his son David (who is also on the title of the building) had graciously allowed aerosol artists to use the building as their collective canvas for many years, Wolkoff had become art enemy number one since announcing his plans to demolish what had become an internationally recognized art mecca. Obviously he knew he would continue to face strong opposition by artists and art lovers and hence why, I am assuming, the rush to whitewash the building with no pre-announcement late Monday.

Sixteen long hip-hop years ago Bay Area duo Latyrx(Lyrics Born and Lateef the Truth Speaker) released their highly innovative, critically-acclaimed full length debut The Album. And now in late 2013 the hip-hop power-duo, who've separately enjoyed highly prolific and successful individual careers over the past decade and a half, have finally reunited to record and release the long overdue follow up: The Second Albumwhich arrived in Amoeba on November 5th.

In celebration of this recommended new album, that was released via Latyramid and is also available in vinyl format, they will be doing a special Bay Area concert tomorrow night at the Independent in San Francisco - on a bill also featuring album contributorsForrest Day and Gift of Gab (as host), plus Aaron Axelsen. With a wide variety of producers including Amp Live from Zion I, Jel from Anticon, tUnE-yArDs, the Decemberists' Chris Funk, and Forrest Day, plussuch select mic guests as fellow Solesides/Quannum collective member theGift of Gab fromBlackalicious, Zion I's Zumbi, and LA emceeBusdriver - Lyrics Born and Lateef have concocted a richly diverse album that, while sonically quite different from its predecessor (more alt-rap than roots and experimental hip-hop), is one of the better and more adventurous hip-hop releases of 2013. "It’s very eclectic, mature, nonsensical imaginative, poetic, organic, synthetic," summed up Lyrics Born of the album in a pre-release description of the anticipated new album. This week I caught up with the two busy members of Latyrx via email to ask them each four questions. Their responses appear below immediately following the video for the new album track "Exclamation Point" that was produced by and also features on vocals Forrest Day.

This is San Francisco’s only indie rock beer festival and it's back at Public Works for a third year of great music and beer. Amoeba is thrilled that our favorites Mikal Cronin, Shannon and the Clams, Kelley Stoltz, Golden Void, French Cassettes, and Magic Fight are playing this beer-tastic event! And as if the rockin' tunes weren't enough, there is also unlimited local beer tasting from these great local breweries: 21st Amendment Brewery, Almanac Beer Company, Anchor Brewing, Beach Chalet Brewery & Restaurant, Cerveceria de MateVeza, Headlands Brewing Company, Magnolia Gastropub & Brewery, Pacific Brewing Laboratory, Pine Street Brewery, Pizza Orgasmica & Brewery, Speakeasy Ales & Lagers, ThirstyBear Brewing Company, and Triple Voodoo Brewing.!

This is a 21+ event (of course!) and goes from 12:30pm - 6:30pm. Get your tickets nowsville HERE!

With the slow demolition process of the East Bay span of the Bay Bridge just begun the fate of the fabled Bay Bridge Troll, as pictured above, is no longer undetermined. The troll has taken up temporary residence at the Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) which recently welcomed the small guardian of the Bay to its Gallery of California History, where it will remain on exhibit through February 2014. It will be on display alongside his "brother" - a replica of the actual Bay Bridge troll now known as "Troll Senior." Back 24 years ago during the repair work due to the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, the Bill Roan designed and created Troll has been protecting and keeping ward on the Bay Bridge's East Bay span section.

As the curators of OMCA point out trolls, based on Nordic mythology, are master builders, metal workers, and protectors of treasure who live under bridges. Bay Area blacksmith Bill Roan is a fan of the Nordic mythology and hence designed the 18 inch tall steel sculpture - with its slightly menacing look that include two large horns and a spud wrench in hand - during the repairs to the East Bay section of the Bay Bridge following the '89 quake. This work Roan did without any fanfare at the time as it was not officially authorized. Watch video coverage of the Bay Bridge troll installation to OMCA's Gallery of California History for more background info. And for more museum info click here.

On Saturday, November 14th, Radio Sombra celebrated its second anniversary as an Internet radio station. Radio Sombra was started by Marco Amador as an important first step in creating more autonomous spaces throughout the Chicano community. Internet radio is nothing new to the world, but it’s an important first step in the advancement of communities such as Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles in looking beyond our traditional means of expression. From Radio Sombra came Espacio 1839, an art gallery/bookstore/record store/apparel shop that houses the station. Again, nothing new to most progressive communities, but Radio Sombra and Espacio 1839 has continued to flourish without corporate sponsorship, grants, and city funding or bank loans. This enables both entities to not compromise and continue defining itself.

Radio Sombra now has over twenty shows with the archives of past shows now running 24/7 in between the live shows. All radio shows pays dues for the upkeep of the station and equipment. Each show is required to run independently, with each host getting a course on how to engineer their shows and uploading them once completed on radiosombra.org. The shows vary from social/political talk shows to music shows specializing in every genre of music imaginable. There are youth programs that teach students from local high schools how to run their own shows as well as an ongoing achieve of interviews from important voices both locally and internationally.

Saturday’s broadcast was twelve straight hours of live programming. Starting at 11 am with This Is Not A Radio Show with Omar Ramirez & Gabriel Tenorio and Ending with Heartbreak Radio with Lady Imix & DJ Phatrick at 11 pm. Other shows that participated were AF3IRM Radio, an anti-imperialist transnational feminist national women’s organization. This was followed by O Lo Siento, a 90’s noise rock revival and platform for new groups personally recorded by studio engineer Eddie Rivas. Beatific Audio followed by DJ Cezar, a mixture of jazzy funk,hip-hop and social consciousness, Small Talk From Sapo is hosted by Moises Ruiz, aka Sapo, which on that day was a tribute to all the great jazz organists, all from vinyl. Steady Beat For Lovers by Mali is exactly what the name entails, a sweet blend of Rocksteady and Lover’s Rock.Nicotina hosted by Nico Avina, always plays political fueled rock and folk in Spanish and English. I did a set for Discos Inmigrantes, an all vinyl set of my favorite jams from past shows. Social Machine Broadcast with Becky & Dewey plays mostly powerful female-led rock in the first have and punk and metal in the second half. Heartbreak Radio closed it out with a set from DJ Phatrick followed by another tearjerker set by Lady Imix.

L.A.-based folk-rock band Run River Northare a model for self-made bands everywhere. The Korean-American septet, who make folk-based music with soaring vocals, intricate harmonies and the occasional electric guitar, have been garnering increasing notice not just locally, but globally, thanks in part to some industrious moves. The band recorded a version of its song “Fight to Keep” live inside one of the band members’ Hondas. The clip made it to Honda’s computer screens, and the company surprised the band by taking it to play live on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” You can watch both the original clip and their appearance on “Kimmel” below.

The band is playing every Wednesday this month at acoustic music haven Hotel Cafe in Hollywood. Amoeba is proud to sponsor the residency. You can catch them Nov. 20, 27 and Dec. 4. Additionally the band's Fight to Keep 7” will be available exclusively at Amoeba Hollywood starting Nov. 27. The band’s self-titled debut album is due Feb. 25 on Nettwerk.

Right now we are collecting donations for disaster relief in the Philippines. Monetary donations are being accepted at the registers for Doctors Without Borders' relief efforts in the Philippines. Find out more or directly donate at their website.

Find out more about the charities we're involved with below, or pick up a “How You Can Help” pamphlet at any Amoeba Music location:

Once again big thanks to E-Lit at Amoeba Berkeley for the chart and video breakdown above, and for always being on top of the very latest in new hip-hop releases and often ones you don't always hear about in the mainstream. This week's list includes the two producers with long lists of guest emcees: Marco Polo's latest offering - PA2: The Director's Cut on Soulspazm Records via Fat Beats, and the official debut from Perth Australia's Kid Tsunami The Chase on Head Bop which between the two of these new albums make up the perfect throwback to the nineties styled mixtape. Marco Polo deserves major props for just alone getting Organized Konfusion together again for the first time in over a decade: the legendary hip-hop duo of Pharoahe Monch andPrince Po join forces on the leadoff album track "3-O-Clock." The video for this sick track appears below (scroll down) along with accompanying videos to each of the other four new chart entries. These include the Kid Tsunami produced "Bang Exclusive" off his guest heavy album with features from both emcee Sean Priceand guitarist Chuck Chilla, No Bird Sing's "And War (feat Molly Dean)," Mad Dukez & Fresh Kils' album track "Sookie Sookie," and Louis Logic - along with album guestBlueprint, at his recent record release party for his new Fake Four Inc. releaseLook On The Blight Side.

Amoeba Berkeley's own Billy Sprague - the music and art loving, multi-talented artist, musician (Galena is his project name), photographer, and owner of the Sanity Muffincassette label has an art opening tonight (Thursday, November 14th from 6pm to 8pm) at coffee/art spot Four Barrel on Valencia Street in San Francisco that the artist has been "slowly and consistently building" for the past five months, he said. "It's comprised of mostly large scale drawings, and frottage: abstract and surreal with a special attention to balance and flow," he said noting that, for inspiration, that he has been, "listening to a lot of minimalist classical music like Morton Feldman and practiced my own sort of meditation before and during the production of these works. My hopes were [that] this practice would transpire into and through the images and continue to convey this energy as the pieces move on to new environments." At Four Barrel, where his exhibit will be on display through December 18th, Sprague will be selling a limited edition show catalog/zine and 11" x 17" scale full color signed and limited edition prints of three of the pieces at this evening's opening. As he busily prepared to get the exhibit all up on display the artist took a few moments to answer some questions (scroll down) about his exhibit that includes the pieces of art above and below.

You may not know his name yet, but you know these names: Ariel Pink, with whom he’s worked; and White Fence, with whom he’s a touring guitarist. With those impressive credentials, check out L.A.’s Jack Name, a lo-fi pop wiz along the lines of the aforementioned, heavier on the psych-pop-rock side, with cool theraminny noises floating in the corners above a solid, classic arrangement. His debut, Light Show, is due Jan. 21 on Drag City’s God? imprint. Listen via Pitchfork.

A while back I blogged about Castle Face’s new Live in San Francisco series, which began with White Fence’s Live in San Francisco, available now (CD or LP). The next edition, featuring Ty Segall’s aptly named Fuzz, hits Dec. 3. You can hear a cut from it now, which saw Segall and co. playing at famed gay bar The SF Eagle! Sludge rock and bears go together like actual bears and honey.

Chesterfield Square is without a doubt, one of Los Angeles’s most obscure neighborhoods. The obscurity is somewhat surprising given the neighborhood’s longstanding and dubious distinction of having the city’s and county’s highest violent crime rate. As a matter of fact, most of the Los Angeles’s most crime-ridden neighborhoods are rather obscure – communities like Compton, South Central, and Wattsaren’t even in the top ten.

Divine protection

Although I don’t in any way wish to minimize the seriousness of crime, both visitors and residents of the neighborhood are more likely to be felled by heart disease, cancer, an accident or suicide than by violent criminals -- especially those who are not or don't appear to be affiliated with a gang. Furthermore, citywide violent crime rates for Los Angeles are the lowest they’ve been since 1966. It may be rough by Los Angeles standards but it's hardly San Pedro Sula. In other words, nothing bad is going to happen to you.

Understated but hard-hitting house from one-half of Genius of Time. A-side Smuts is an adroit combination of low-slung disco house and ethereal dubbiness. The lessons from Genius of Time's live hardware sets are in full effect, every element is caught in a pleasing state of flux. B-side Studs is a menacing drum track not far from certain Funkinevil productions and is a gripping 7-minute journey despite lack of traditional melody. A great start for the Boss Musik imprint.

Ominous, minor-key jams from the Hague/SF Electribe Godess. The a-side builds up several creepy synth lines to a whirring climax. The B, Eye of the Rainstorm, is the highlight. It's longing and oceanic, John Carpenter-house. No one's sounding quite like Xosar right now.

Over the past week since the election win of distinctly left leaning liberal Democrat Bill de Blasio as New York City's next mayor with a landslide win of 73% of the vote, following 20 years / five consecutive terms of conservative Republican mayors Michael Bloomberg and Rudy Giuliani who brought sweeping changes to the Big Apple including sharp drop in crime statistics, there has been much talk of what actually lies ahead for the city of New York under the new liberal mayor elect whose "progress" themed campaign platform was run on the promise of bringing sweeping changes (particularly in areas of inequality, most notably the racial profiling of NYPD's 'stop and frisk' policies) to the citizens of New York City.

One thing that both supporters and detractors of de Blasio seem to share is their uncertainty as to what exactly lies ahead for New York City once the new mayor of "change" takes office on January 1st. All agree that there will be sweeping changes to the running of NYC on a day to day basis particularly in that of the NYPD - but as to what those changes will ultimately mean for New York City is up for debate. Both sides seem to agree that de Blasio will return NYC to an earlier time, but just how much earlier is up for debate. Some have suggested that New York might return to how it was in the 1970's - a time of economic upheaval when Gotham was a dingy, disheveled, crime-ridden metropolis - albeit one romanticized by many in retrospect.

Amoebacaught up with Strange Talk on a recent visit to the Hollywood store for another cool episode of What's In My Bag?.Some might be surprised to learn the Australian synth-pop band is super into Hip Hop and Soul. From Bill Withers' classic, Just As I Am, to James Brown's Live At The Apollo, these guys dig it all. They also pick up some very cool books to help pass the time while bored on tour: Mo' Betta Blues: The World According To Questlove by Roots drummer Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson and Pharrell: Places And Spaces I've Been by producer Pharrell Williams. It's not all Hip Hop and funk either. See who picks up Queen: Days Of Our Lives on DVD and The Cure's Disintegration on CD. These guys have a lot of great picks! Be sure to check out their new album, Cast Away, when it comesout 1/7/2014.

Use the promo code vinyl10 to get 10% off any new and used vinyl on Amoeba.com.

Starting a record collection? Or trying to round out the one you have? Here's a list of 100 records, in alphabetical order, that most people can agree are essential listens. I picked based on two criteria: essentialness and availability. If there's no reasonable way you can pick up the album in store at any given time (and for under $40), it's not on there. If you'd like to head straight to shopping, check out this handy feature at our online store. Enjoy!

For this Hip Hop History Tuesdays Amoeblog the focus is on some select Bay Area hip hop/rap concerts from two and three decades (80's/90's) ago and their corresponding advertisement flyers - a time before social networking and free access by all to the Internet. Covering the years from 1984 to 1996, these are a selection of show fliers such as the one left from September 1989 when LA crossover rap artist Young MC was at his prime as were the Bay Area rap acts who opened for him including APG Crew at the long gone, once very active, club spot in North Oakland the Omni ("the Bay Area's largest showcase nightclub" on Shattuck at 48th near Telegraph).

In addition to APG Crew, who were voted hottest local/Bay Area act of that same year of 1989, other acts on this bill included East Bay act Step G with M.C. Sirgeo, and two Bay Area acts that would go on to national acclaim: producer/political rapper Paris thanks to signing with (and later getting dropped over political controversy) with Tommy Boy Records and East Bay hip-hop crew Capital Tax who in the following few years would go from being on the small indie local T-Cap Productions to being signed to MCA Records. Another time within about a year of that show, Too $hortheadlined at the Omni -- doing his typical no-frills, straight up rap concert. (This was a time when another Oakland rapper, MC Hammer's stage shows were huge choreographed events -- Too $hort was the proud antitheses of that.)

Join Peaches Christ and the gang at the historic Castro Theatre on Saturday November 23rd for a screening of the 1980 camp classic 9 TO 5. Not only will you get to enjoy this Jane Fonda/Lily Tomlin/Dolly Parton classic on the big screen, but you'll be asking for overtime as this event features the world premiere of a special new pre-show production called "WORKIN'" starring Peaches Christ (All About Evil), Heklina, and Pandora Boxx (RuPaul's Drag Race).

Watch these roosters become hens before your very eyes and cheer along as the ladies take on their sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot boss in a pre-show overthrow like no other!

Wooden Shjips have always been one of the coolest psych-rock bands on the block, one that gives a good name to the concept of jam bands. But their latest, the aptly named Back to Land, reins in some of the jams in favor of more concrete songs. It’s a bold move, as the band has relocated to Portland from SF and seems to have re-energized the band, but it’s a move that likely won’t upset their fans. Songs like the great title track still are allowed to drift past the five-minute mark, utilizing simple, repeated chord structures built on fuzz guitar and organ drone, encircling the proceedings with tasteful improvisation, while frontman Ripley Johnsaon’s Alan Vega-esque drawl fades in and out, directing things like a super chill camp counselor. While the songs lengths may be shorter, there’s no shortage of variety on Back to Land, making room for fuzzy Velvets-style ballads like “These Shadows” and the kind of driving, power-chord romp they do so well on songs like “Other Stars.” Wooden Shjips may pick up a few more seafairers with the friendlier Back to Land, but there’s plenty to like for longtime fans as well. Dock up and listen.

For the past few weeks now JFK's face has been popping up on a lot of magazine covers and on TV (including the PBS documentary JFK: American Experience airing tonight and tomorrow - Nov 11th & 12th) as we quickly approach the historic 50th anniversary of that fateful day in Dallas, TX when the 35th president of the United States was assassinated. Friday November 22th, 2013 will mark the 50th anniversary of the JFK assassination so between now and then you can expect to be hearing/seeing a lot on the topic of the beloved US president. To mark the occasion there is also a free download compilation, care of Turn Me On, Dead Man Recordings, entitled Conspiracy A-Go-Go that consists of over two dozen tracks (mostly punk/garage - some new, some previously recorded) that reference the JFK assassination including tracks by the New Jack Rubys, The Droogs, Buckwheat Catapillar, Dark Fog, and The Bonnevilles. This free downloadable album, used with the permission of the artists through a Creative Commons License for non-commercial purposes, includes one of my all time favorites: Steinski & The Mass Media's "The Motorcade Sped On." I have included a video above set to that cut-and-paste masterpiece by Steinski that was originally issued in 1985 as a promo by Tommy Boy and also as a track on a various artists 7" free EP c/o NME magazine. Five years ago the song was included in the Illegal Art released compilation of Steinski's work - What Does It All Mean? 1983-2006 Retrospective.

Year Of The Snake -- an interdisciplinary work of music, dance, and text -- premieres in San Francisco at CounterPulseNovember 15th - 17th (get your tickets HERE). Conceived by Bay Area artists Jason Hoopes (composer), Peiling Kao (choreographer), and Karl Jensen (writer/visual), Year Of The Snakeexplores the power and process of self-transformation. As personal perspective changes, the traumatic shedding of “old skin” and the acceptance of new forms provide useful metaphors for compassionately ushering in needed societal progress -- making the personal public.

Besides the live performance, Year Of The Snake also incorporates a recording of the music (available November 15th) and a book of writing and imagery composed specifically for this work (also available November 15th). Find out how you can become part of the process by visiting the Year Of The Snake Indiegogo campaign!

If you'll recall, the first Thor film stirred up controversy by casting Idris Elba, a black man, as the character of Heimdall, the door man to Asgard -- not because the first black Asgardian is a door man, but only because Norse Gods are Aryan and thus presumed to be white. (I doubt it would've been the white power advocates objecting had Jarvis been made a black man, rather than A.I., in The Avengers and Iron Man.) The sequel, The Dark World, defiantly expands his role, having a lot more people, gods and various mythical beings enter Asgard, thereby keeping Helmdall busier than if he worked for a hotel in a 30s screwball comedy. The filmmakers also give the racist complainers even more whatfor by casting a lot of the Asgardian warriors as black (and one Japanese). See all those black dudes punching something or other in the background, or kneeling to the greatest of all Asgardians, Thor (played by Chris Hemsworth, a white man), after he proves his mettle in battle? I can imagine the decision made at the meeting: "this will really fuck with those white power assholes!" This is post-racial Hollywood, so I guess it doesn't matter that the servant is still black, just like Rochester, and the master who, like Mr. Benny, makes all the major decisions, is still blue-eyed and white. Perhaps simply applying black faces onto white mythology isn't the best approach to solving problems in representation.

The Dark World does actually bring up an interesting problem about representation in fantasy on film (sigh, DCP). One of the main evil dark elves, Akrim (the second in command), is played by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, a black man. Keeping with the film's racial sensitivity, he's the first major character to sacrifice himself for the cause. He doesn't exactly die, but instead transforms into a giant mutant elf, Kurse, with the actor subsequently completely covered in prosthetics and, I suspect, often rendered digitally (at least, in the battles). My question is does he still count as black representation? Too bad for the actual actor, but the answer seems to be 'yes,' since (1) in the fictional narrative of a novel, simply assigning a character as black (like Rue in Hunger Games) is enough to make them black, (2) a black character in a cartoon is an example of black representation (Green Lantern in Justice League), so why not this digital creation who clearly starts off as a black man? and, relatedly, (3) if the digital creation Gollum continues to be white, because of who he was as Sméagol, a white hobbit, the same rationale applies to the black elf becoming a mutant. (Not that any of this was probably thought about during pre-production.)

Promoting Transgender and Gender-Variant Visibility, Culture & Community is the goal of the San Francisco Transgender Film Festival happening this weekend at the Roxie Theater. The film curators are calling this, their twelfth fest, "our biggest Festival ever -- 3 days of spectacular programs and events." Tonight, Friday Nov 8th's festival Opening Night Gala at 8pm will be a program of Transgendered Shorts including Loving The Bony Lady by Scott Elliott, Gender Games by Veronica Lopez and Meg Smaker, and Performing Girl by Crescent Diamond.

Tomorrow, Saturday's program will include screenings of the shorts GRRRL by Vega Darling which is excerpts from the forthcoming Riot Grrrl! documentary, and "Happy Toilet" by Lark Buckingham - a music video with animation for San Francisco trans/queer punk band Alabaster Choad. The San Francisco Transgender Film Festival runs from today, Friday November 8th through Sunday November 10th at the Roxie Theater at 3117 16th Street, San Francisco - a wheelchair-accessible venue. Individual film tickets as well as festival passes for $50 are available from the SFTFF website. .

There’s nothing we like here at PST like sad girl music (or sad old man music, for that matter). Emily Jane White’s “Keeley” isn’t sad as much as morose, the feeling of an ancient ritual being carried out with no sense of self. White’s crackly voice adds to that feeling of helplessness over Julee Cruise-style synthesizer melodrama, singing lyrics seemingly pulled out of The Handmaid’s Tale—lines like “Oh Keeley, you’ll always be my maiden of the dawn” are strange, sensual and foreboding). Really paralyzing stuff. Blood / Lines is due Nov. 19 on Important Records.

Whoa, I’m digging this new sound for L.A. indie pop stalwarts So Many Wizards. It has the springy energy of their early releases with a little more sleekness for a song that doesn’t sacrifice the band’s intricate arrangements while just sounding really cool. I love how it sort of goes wild halfway through but never really loses sight of its hooks. The Night Chills 7” is due later this month; catch them at The Smell for the record release party Nov. 22. You can read my interview with So Many Wizards here.

Thanks to E-Lit at the Berkeley Amoeba store for the run down on the latest batch of new/recent hip-hop releases to arrive on Amoeba's shelves in both CD and vinyl formats. Not too surprisingly the much talked about brand new Eminem album, that dropped on Tuesday, is the top seller of the week at the Telegraph Ave. store. The follow up to his Recovery album from summer 2010 Eminem's brand new album, which comes in both regular CD and Deluxe CD versions but so far no vinyl even though its title is "LP," is a sequel of sorts to the 8 Mile rapper's breakout release The Marshall Mathers LP that was released thirteen and a half years ago. With even the cover art (see above and right for original) an exact continuation of that mega hit album (it has sold 21 million copies to date) Eminem is clearly trying to regain the momentum and feel of that May 2000 release and the good news is that he certainly appears to be successful in taking it back stylistically to his older rap style and vibe - even channeling his old Slim Shady alter ego on the new album. So far on social media outlets like Twitter Em fans have weighed in on the new release, that was leaked a few days early, and they seem to be really feeling it; and way more than any of his recent years releases such as the aforementioned Recovery. With executive production credits going toDr. Dre andRick Rubin the production and beats are distinctly up-tempo and rock-based while guests on the new album includeKendrick Lamar, Rihanna, Skylar Grey, and Nate Reuss - the lead singer of the band Fun.

This year’s Treasure Island Music Festival (10/19 - 10/20) was another great weekend of music held in the picturesque San Francisco Bay. Saturday consisted of more electronic-leaning artists, while Sunday featured mostly hard-lined rock acts. There were plenty of cool interactive features at Treasure Island including silent disco, art installations, and local merchant booths. Although it reached pretty cold temperatures, that didn’t stop the bands from putting on fantastic performances.

The term "papoose" in English refers to both young Native American children and their cradle board carriers. The word come to English from the Narragansett term papoòs. As evinced by the following historical photographs, cradle board carriers were once popular not just within the Alqonquin nation but throughout much of indigenous North America and maybe beyond.I don't recall ever seeing one in use in modern times except for in instances where Native Women wear traditional clothing such as special observances, historical reenactments (e.g. documentaries), and in Westerns. I think that they're cute.

We're thrilled to welcome Scottish Alt-Rock band The Fratellis for a live Green Room Session at Amoeba Hollywood on Monday, November 11! You could win a spot in the audience for this intimate show!

The Fratellis have just released their third album, We Need Medicine. The 11-track production is full of bluesy rock anthems. The single "Seven Nights Seven Days" is a rousing jam with a classic chorus backed by country guitars, while the title track is a gravelly, piano-led blues song that compels you to sing along.

For your chance to attend this special performance and recording session, send an email with your name, daytime contact number and the name of your favorite song from We Need Medicine to contest@amoeba.com.

The performance/taping will take place at Amoeba Hollywood on Monday, November 11 at 4pm. You'll need to arrive by 3:45pm. Winners will be notified by phone on Friday, November 8th.

Our Green Room Sessions are very intimate and fan friendly. It's like having your favorite band playing in your bedroom. You are literally that close. Check out how British indie rockers The Heavyinteract with their fans at a recent Green Room Sessions performance. Nowhere else can you get an up close and personal experience like this!

"Failure has been a huge inspiration to me. They say amateurs borrow and professionals steal. Well over the years this pro has robbed these poor saps blind. Biting their style has become second nature. But please don't tell them that." - Maynard James Keenan

Often compared to seminal bands of the '90s like Nirvana and Soundgarden, Failure were definitely an important gem of the alternative rock movement. The Los Angeles-based band signed with the now iconic independent label, Slash Records, in 1992. They went on to release three full-length albums on Slash before disdanding in 1997. Despite contributing a cover of "Enjoy the Silence" for a Depeche Mode tribute album in '97 and releasing two compilations post-breakup, Failure has never reunited. Until now.

Failure is back and set to play its first show in over 15 years! It's all going down in Los Angeles at the El Rey on February 13, 2014. Tickets go on sale at Amoeba HollywoodThursday, November 7 at 10:30am. Purchase a ticket and get a free limited edition 7” vinyl featuring two rarities (while supplies last). Limit 2 tickets per person and it's first come, first served. Also, please note that the vinyl will be available for pick up at the El Rey on Feb 13, and not at Amoeba Hollywood.

The Bay Area's own Wooden Shjips has been throwing down spacey psychedelic rock since 2006. The band has been on a steady rise to rock prominence and doesn't seem to be slowing down any time soon. Some of their early self-released 7" vinyl, such as Shrinking Moon For You, are hot items and can go for $50 online. That's of course, if you can get your hands on a copy.

For those of you not lucky enough to snag the rare vinyl don't fret! You can pre-order Wooden Shjips' lateset release, Back To Land (Thrill Jockey), via Amoeba.com. The new album is a follow up to 2011's West and is the band's first album produced outside of the Bay Area. Staying true to the band's aesthic, Back to Land boasts eight tracks of colorful fuzzy psychedelia, giving the listener what they want without being boring. It's business as usual and business is good! Back to Land out 11/12/13.

New York County Supreme Court building at 60 Centre Street, Downtown Manhattan

The talk in New York City today is all about the result of yesterday's mayoral election in which, for the first time in 20 years, there will be a Democrat in the mayor's office with the landslide victory of Bill de Blasio. With the odds stacked in his favor (68% to 23%) de Blasio squarely beat Republican mayoral candidate Joe Lhota - making him the first Democrat mayor in the Big Apple following a combined five consecutive terms for Republicans (three for Michael Bloomberg and two for Rudy Guiliani) . Surrounded by his family and supporters at a victory party in Park Slope, Brooklyn last night de Blasio said "Make no mistake: The people of this city have chosen a progressive path, and tonight we set forth on it, together.”

De Blasio's win is seen as a clear cry for change from the citizens of a city that are tired and frustrated with such things as the ever growing division between the rich and the poor of New York, the NYPD's over the top aggressive policing tactics (namely the controversial, racial profiling "Stop and Frisk" policy), and the increasingly large lack of affordable housing for most working New Yorkers. In short de Blasio firmly positioned himself as the mayor who would make a clean break from the Bloomberg/Giuliani years in which the city was seen as cozying up with big business at the expense of the little guy/the average New Yorker and his election win is a loud rejection to the tough, business-minded style that ruled City Hall since 1990. During that time NYC was seen as becoming "Disneyfied" or "the Mall of America" or a playground for the 1%. De Blasio, who famously as a young liberal supported the Sandinistas and more recently (albeit during the mayoral campaign) supported the staff and patients at the Long Island College Hospital that faced closure and, during that July protest, got arrested along with other protesters. This and his outspoken disapproval of the NYPD's frisking policies struck a nerve with New Yorkers who overwhelmingly voted him into office. Once he takes office he promises to effect a sweeping liberal agenda that will include among other big changes a substantial tax increase on top earners to pay for universal pre-kindergarten and improved police-community relations. Essentially de Blasio and his administration will try and turn back the clock on NYC and undo much of what the previous two mayors did. Can he do this without sacrificing too many positives remains to be to seen. And what happens over the next four years in New York City will be interesting to witness unfold. Stay tuned.

Here at Amoeba Music we love our regular in-house DJ series called MANDALA. This event features all manner of guest selectors, from Egyptian Lover to DJ Female Convict Scorpion, traversing multiple frequencies of the sound and vision spectrum, more often than not discovering new sonic sweet spots as the beat goes on. This Wednesday, November 6 from 5-7pm, MANDALA presents Amoeba SF resident "weird guy" music mavens and salient sounds selector-gurus Dan Derogatis and Julian Maestas as they peruse and play nothing but DOLLAR JAM$from Amoeba's clearance vinyl section signalling the return of the very special "anything goes" MANDALA set we like to call MANDOLLAR! This most auspicious confluence of experimental ears, passionate bargain bin excavation and solid music knowledge will surely make for an unbridled and unpredictable 120 minutes never before heard nor heard again. The upside of shopping during this particular set will be that every record you hear will be up for grabs, immediately following play.

It should no longer be necessary to defend Richard Fleischer's Mandingo, not after the eloquent and thorough defenses proffered by Andrew Britton and Robin Wood. Anyone who dismisses the film as exploitative trash hasn't read their essays. I say read them if in doubt about its substance. What's interesting to me about the film here is the great amount of narrative overlap it shares with the current slavery epic, Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave: the brutal whippings, the race-horse inspection of prospective slaves, a castrated slave uprising, the decimation of black families by separating children from their parents across plantations, enforced illiteracy, hangings, the demeaning and ambivalent status of the house negro, the rape of a young slave girl by her master and the subsequent jealousy and violent reprisal from his wife, who is herself much abused. The latter film even suggests a Mandingo-type vengeful desire on the part of the plantation mistress, Epps, towards a slave, Solomon Northrup, through a couple of closeups (one occurs as Solomon hangs from a tree). This desire is much more than mere suggestion in Mandingo, of couse (cf. poster below), but it's the master-slave sexual attraction that's always served as the locus classicus for the dismissive reading of the film as mere exploitation.

Despite these many commonalities, 12 Years a Slave is being celebrated as a primary Oscar contender and demanding of serious respect by the majority of critics writing about it. It's a decent film, but doesn't say anything more than Mandingo did. Indeed, it says (or attempts to say) a good deal less, since Mandingo was much more concerned with exploring the structural relations of slavery to other features of American life, particularly sexual politics (as both Britton and Wood detail, the purpose of women and children are linked with that of the slave, devices by which the system ensured the spread of capital through space and time, i.e., the plantation and its generations of familial owners). Ownership of others is endemic to the country's development, not an evil otherness that can be put to the side as something we now reject. And that structural concern has a lot to do with why Mandingo has been largely rejected as exploitation, but the psychological analysis of 12 Years a Slave is celebrated. The latter mostly puts the model viewer into the place of the slave, Solomon, which is a morally comfortable place to be: owning others as property is something someone else would do, I (the model viewer) am on the side of the oppressed. Slavery is almost entirely subjective in the film. Mandingo, as "exploitation" tends to do, has the viewer principally identify with the morally compromised position, that of the slaver Ham, who both partakes in and guiltily rejects the advantages of his position. There is no Schindler's List sort of redemption awaiting audience identification with him. His position in the peculiar institution, although inherited, implicates all of his choices, even when he's attempting some bit of kindness as he sees it. By aligning the film with his point of view, the institution isn't pure otherness and we aren't allowed to run away from it. All actions are read through the evil of slavery.

Worldwide stardom hasn't softened M.I.A. one iota; if anything, it's made her resolve to be the planet's most provocative pop star that much stronger. Following the all-over-the-map Maya, by comparison Matangi is laser-focused, utilizing harsh industrial noise much in the same way Kanye West's Yeezus did, though she fuses it with a worldbeat touch and heavy EDM nods. Most of all, Matangi succeeds because it sounds like an M.I.A. album, even if it's been digitally chopped up and reassembled more so than previous releases. Her opening tracks come on hard, dropping names of wartorn nations in the title track amid a digital grenade of atonal sounds, while "Warriors" drills with a minimalist hip-hop beat. "Come Walk With Me" starts like a love song, quiet with a reggae sway, before jumping off the rails with a hyperactive dancehall-house beat. Though these tracks touch on her typical subject matter of empowering the global masses, she's also having a great time, rapping like a cocky hip-hop star and subverting the formula. And the second half of Matangi is loaded with ass-shakers. "atention's" twisted beat makes it one of her sickest dance songs since "World Town." The previously released "Bad Girls" makes an appearance in all its bhangra-beat glory, and "Bring the Noize" is the album's instant classic, unleashing a brutal beat that makes most EDM sound like kid's music as M.I.A. pulls off sounding disaffected while spouting rhymes at an impressive tick. Matangi is a welcome comeback after a troubling period for M.I.A., proving her once again to be one of the most forward-thinking pop music entities around.

Lee Johnson, aka West Coast hip-hop pioneer DJ Flash who began his illustrious rap career back in the early 80's, has recently returned from retirement along with his old school 80's rap partner Captain Rapp and gotten back into music with a new label and a brand new release that recently arrived in Amoeba (in store) for sale. The new album Westcoastin features Ronnie Hudson with a slew of legendary West Coast rappers including Snoop Dogg, E-40, and Too $hort is a sort of reprise of Hudson's 80's hit "West Coast Poppin" - one that he incidentally reissued back in the early 90's when he compiled the West Coast Rap history compilation series. "A year and a half ago I asked Ronnie Hudson if he would like to re-create his 1982 Classic "West Coast Poplock" aka "California Knows How To Party" that Ronnie wrote it in the 80's the one that Dre and Pac re-did it in the 90's," Flash told me recently. The new record which began as a vague idea of reworking a West Coast classic evolved into all the original guys Ronnie Hudson, Mikel Hooks, Captain Rapp, and DJ Flash getting back together and then recruiting Zapp Troutman, Snoop Dogg, Too Short, E40, Rappin 4Tay, and Celly Cel and some others to make the original song even better via various mixes include several re-mixes: house, dub-step, electro, and G-funk (featuring Battlecat and Richie Rich) - plus record some other new material. Below is text of a recent conversation with Flash about the new project plus, immediately below, is part of a recent video interview I conducted with both Flash and Rapp talking about their history and the history of West Coast Rap itself.

On Saturday, November 2, Matt Besser and Ian Roberts from Upright Citizens Brigade brought the goods and the guffaws with their dry wit and nutty antics. It was mayhem and mirth on the Amoeba Hollywood stage stage as they helped raise the bids up! Several customers were overheard saying they didn't know what the hell was happening, but it sure sounded exciting.

The Upright Citizens Brigade is a comedy improvisational troupe founded in LA by Matt, Ian, Matt Walsh and Amy Poehler. The UCB Theatre is dedicated to fostering both an appreciation and education of the arts through affordable and high quality comedic performances and classes. Their new book, The Upright Citizens Brigade Comedy Improvisation Manual, was borne out of years of work by the authors to provide the first step-by-step instruction manual for the art of comedic improvisation.

Matt and Ian shot several zingers into the crowd as they drove the bids up and up...

"Not bidding today is just like kicking a homeless person as you walk down the street!"

Our November charity auction beneficiary is our neighbors, Food on Foot. Since 1996 they have provided the poor and homeless of Hollywood with nutritious meals, clothing, job opportunities, and assistance in the transition to employment and life off the streets.

As always, Amoeba matches all winning bids and 100% of auction funds go straight to the charity.

Amoeba Hollywood regularly sells tickets to local shows, with the added bonus of charging low service fees (if you're into saving money and who isn't really?).

All tickets can be purchased at the registers (while supplies last) for a $2 service fee. We take cash and credit cards for all ticket sales. Store credit and coupons cannot be applied to ticket sales. Limit 4 tickets per person.

Please note that on the day of the show, we will stop selling tickets for that show at 5pm.

If you have a question about whether we've sold out of a specific show, please call the store at 323-245-6400.

JUST ADDED SHOWS:

Washed Out
El Rey Theatre
January 27

St. Lucia
El Rey Theatre
February 11

Here is a full list of tickets we currently have for sale at Amoeba Hollywood:

Show Name

Venue

Show Date

Ticket Price(fee not included)

12th Planet

Fonda Theatre

12/01/2013

$20.00

The Aquabats

Fonda Theatre

12/07/2013

$19.50

Bangles

Fonda Theatre

12/06/2013

$40.00

Ryan Beatty

El Rey

11/29/2013

$22.00

Brand X

El Rey

12/19/2013

$17.00

Cat Power

El Rey

12/02/2013

$30.00

Sharon Corr

El Rey

02/26/2014

$37.00

Crystal Method

El Rey

01/16/2014

$25.00

Dale Earnhart Jr. Jr.

El Rey

02/28/2014

$20.00

Darkside

Fonda Theatre

01/25/2014

$25.00

Robert DeLong

El Rey

01/31/2014

$17.00

Delorean
(Show postponed to Feb 7, 2014.
All tix for 11/15 will be honored.)

El Rey

02/07/2014

$20.00

The Dismemberment Plan

Fonda Theatre

12/12/2013

$27.50

Finch

Fonda Theatre

12/14/2013

$27.50

Dillon Francis

Fonda Theatre

12/27 & 12/28

$27.50

Galactic

El Rey

03/30/2014

$32.00

Groundation

El Rey

12/01/2013

$22.00

Gungor

El Rey

01/18/2014

$22.00

High on Fire & Kvelertak

El Rey

12/12/2013

$20.00

Jagwar Ma

El Rey

12/13/2013

$17.00

John Butler Trio

Fonda Theatre

02/21/2014

$35.00

Paul Kalkbrenner

Fonda Theatre

12/13/2013

$25.00

King Krule

Fonda Theatre

12/18/2013

$22.50

Kodaline

El Rey

02/27/2014

$20.00

Less Than Jake

Fonda Theatre

11/30/2013

$25.00

Lissie

Fonda Theatre

12/09/2013

$24.50

London Grammar

El Rey

03/25/2014

$22.00

Lord Huron

Fonda Theatre

03/01/2014

$22.50

Lucent Dossier

Fonda Theatre

12/21/2013

$30.00

Mad Caddies

El Rey

02/04/2014

$17.00

The Maine & Anberlin
(Show postponed from 10/8 to 12/11.
All tix for 10/8 show will be honored.)

Fonda Theatre

12/11/2013

$25.00

Colin Meloy

Fonda Theatre

01/16/2014

$28.50

Mikal Cronin / Redd Kross

El Rey

12/03/2013

$20.00

Morbid Angel (SOLD OUT)

Fonda Theatre

11/29/2013

$22.50

Mowglis

El Rey

12/11/2013

$17.00

John Newman

El Rey

01/15/2014

$17.00

Parquet Courts & White Fence

Fonda Theatre

01/17/2014

$17.50

Pinback

El Rey

01/17/2014

$22.00

Problem

El Rey

12/04/2013

$20.00

Skinny Puppy

The Mayan

03/05/2014

$35.00

St. Lucia

El Rey

02/11/204

$18.50

Dave Stewart

El Rey

01/30/2014

$25.00

Suicidal Tendencies

Fonda Theatre

12/20/2013

$32.50

El Ten Eleven

El Rey

12/14/2013

$17.00

Tosca(Show postponed from 12/9 to 3/3.All tix for 12/9 show will be honored.)

Recently when over at Amoeba Berkeley and up front near the new releases section of the Telegraph Ave. store chatting with both E-Lit and Amoeba Marc I couldn't help but notice how the cover photo art of the new Justin Timberlake album20/20 2 of 2 was a little reminiscent of Morrissey's first solo album Viva Hate. (Note the LP cover as distinct from the CD cover art which is different). I asked both Marc and E-Lit if they also saw the similarity. They weren't sure so I dashed over to theM section of rock in Amoeba to find said Moz album just be sure and to hold them up next to each other - and sure enough (Marc and E-Lit agreed) there is a definite similarity in the artwork alright - both captured in shadowy black and white, in somber poses looking downwards. Then I began pondering other possible similarities that the two might share, beyond the likeness of their album covers (both above): both were born in cities that begin with the letter M (Manchester and Memphis), broke away from famous groups (The Smiths and 'N Sync) to remain equally famous as solo artists. Also, I thought, that Timeberlake must be around the same age now as Morrissey was back then when he released Viva Hate (his first post Smiths solo album). Actually Morrissey was a few years younger. He was 28, two months shy of his 29th b-day, when Viva Hate dropped - just six months after The Smiths released their farewell album Strangeways, Here We Come. Meantime Timberlake was/is 32 years old upon release of his latest - his fourth solo album. Another similarity between the two is that both have new projects out at this time - each getting a lot of attention. In the case of the 54 year old Morrissey it is his newly published (long awaited) autobiography that has made headlines for not just the content but the fact that the author insisted that the publisher put it out on their Penguin Classics division. (in an unprecedented move they somehow agreed.) And over the weekend there were reports of Morrissey been in an not too serious auto accident - read report from yesterday via Pitchfork.

My sisters were old enough to attend school and I was still too young, even for the Head Start program. I stayed with my mother as she worked from home sewing wedding dresses for a bridal shop in Gardena. To keep her company, she would put the radio on a easy listening station that was dominated by Burt Bacharach compositions.

Amoeba Music San Francisco celebrated Halloween 2013 with their notoriously competitive costume contest upon the Amoeba stage. In the past, we've seen fierce competition in the form of many creatures from The Ancient Mariner to Nicki Minaj. This year proved to be another nail-biter for the three judges (Tony, David, and Gabe) as the competition brought it again! Employees and customers competed for fabulous Amoeba Gift Certificates, so a lot was at stake!

DJ Kells Bells was scheduled to DJ the spooktacular event, but much to everyone's surprise two new DJs -- Yip and Yip -- arrived instead and played intergalactic hits of the past five decades.

The contestants were introduced by the mistress of ceremonies, Lobster Girl, who had just returned from fighting crime under the sea. Let's review the competition...

Amoeba employee Julian adorned himself as Lord Summerisle from The Wicker Man.

Aaron of Amoeba's DVD Room showed off some fancy footwork as Speed Racer!

Above is the latest Amoeba hip-hop top five chart plus video of Amoeba Berkeley's E-Lit in costume recorded last night (Halloween) before the store closed early for the holiday. As E-Lit noted the new Jon WayneRap Album One(as distinct from his instrumental output) is just out on Stones Throw Records and is available on vinyl too. Other new vinyl releases include LA based longtime Detroit hip-hop ambassador House Shoes who just released the two record set "based around J-Dilla" House Shoes Presents the King Jam Version: Chapter One Verses One - Four. Ohmega Watts, whose last albums were on Ubiquity, have just released Pieces of a Dream on Mellow Orange. The number one album is the return of Greenhouse - Blueprint and Illogic's Bend But Don't Break featuring tracks such as "Microwave America" below.